Football | 10/8/2015 2:48:00 PM

THURSDAY UPDATE - 2 DAYS AWAY

The timing of Texas State's bye week couldn't have been better.  In the game prior to the bye week, Texas State lost soundly at Houston 59-14, the third time in four games that the defense has surrendered over 50 points this season.  A unit that had been struggling to get stops at full strength was woefully undermanned against the Cougars with three of the team's top four interior defensive lineman sitting out due to injury while the fourth, Mershad Dillon, got hurt during the game.  Starting linebacker Tim Gay, who needs as many reps as possible due to his lack of experience at the position, was also unable to play due to injury and has essentially missed the last two games after getting hurt early in the 1^st half against Southern Miss.  John Thompson resigned as defensive coordinator the day after the game.  The offense, perhaps trying to do too much to keep up with the Cougars, got in its own way at Houston, committing four turnovers after having committed just three in the first three games combined.  Last week was as good a time as any to tap the brakes and give the Bobcats the opportunity to evaluate themselves rather than game plan for an opponent.
 
The question of health won't be answered until this Saturday in Lafayette, but it's safe to say that getting a week off helped.  The question of defensive coordinator has been answered: linebackers coach and special teams coordinator Brad Franchione will take over on an interim basis and perhaps the sudden change will jolt something into a defense that's in desperate need of anything to get it going and the program has every reason to believe Coach Brad Fran is capable of making that happen. 
 
His track record speaks for itself: prior to joining the coaching staff at Texas State, Coach Brad Fran was the head coach at Blinn Junior College for five seasons, winning two national championships, sporting a 54-13 record and his Buccaneer teams were routinely one of the top ranked defenses in all of JUCO football.  At Texas State, he coached and helped develop David Mayo into one of the nation's top tacklers a year ago and now Mayo suits up on Sundays for the Carolina Panthers.  Since his arrival in 2011, Texas State's special teams units have accomplished the following:
 

• The Bobcats have had three kickoff return TDs and three punt return TDs.  That's six return touchdowns in 4+ seasons and in the previous eight seasons combined the program had four. 
• Conversely, Texas State has only surrendered two return (one punt return, one KO return) touchdowns since the start of the 2011 season.  From 2006-2010, Texas State gave up seven such touchdowns.
• Two of the three best single-season yards-per-kick-return averages have come in 2013 (Brandon Smith 29.9 yds/return, best in school history) and 2012 (Jafus Gaines, 28.9 yds/return, 3^rd best school history)
• The Bobcats had their first blocked punt for a touchdown in nine years last season
• Texas State has four blocked kicks (punts/field goals) since 2011
• Will Johnson kicked the program's longest field goal ever (54-yarder vs New Mexico State in 2012), had the 3^rd longest yards-per-punt average in school history and in his final game as a Bobcat, kicked off 11 times, each one resulting in a touchback.

Bottom line: a lot of good things have happened under Brad Franchione's watch.  His first test as DC comes against the Ragin' Cajuns this Saturday, a team loaded with talent but struggling out of the gate.  Here's five things you should know about them and the game coming up this weekend.
 

1. The Cajuns might be 1-3, but they've been here before

Last season, I recall feeling really good about Texas State's chances to not only beat the Cajuns, but to make a statement to the rest of the Sun Belt Conference.  The Bobcats came into that Tuesday night riding a two-game winning streak, having opened conference play the week before with a win over Idaho and before that, a triple-overtime victory over Tulsa.  Texas State was arguably a play or two away (or perhaps, a weather delay) from a three-game winning streak, falling just short at Illinois. 
 
The Cajuns were 2-3 and were coming off a closer-than-expected win over Georgia State.  Prior to that, the Cajuns had lost three straight by an average of 31 points, albeit against stiff competition (Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss and Boise State).  Still, something seemed "off" about the Cajuns and even those associated with the team were tempering their expectations prior to kickoff that night in San Marcos. 
 
Three hours later, the Cajuns won convincingly 34-10. 
 
That game sparked something in the visitors from Lafayette as the Cajuns wound up finishing 9-4 for the fourth straight season and won the New Orleans Bowl for a 4^th straight year.  In 2013, the Cajuns started 0-2, and well, just read my last season to see how that turned out.
 
This team plays its best football when the calendar turns to October and you can bet they'll be fired up this Saturday.  Don't get too caught up in the records of either team this weekend.
 

2. Terrance Broadway is a tough QB to replace

The Cajuns' signal caller the previous three seasons, Terrance Broadway, lived up to his last name, putting up performance after performance during his time in Lafayette.  Broadway is second in program history in completions (588), passing yards (+7,500) and passing touchdowns (49).  A duel threat quarterback, Broadway also ran for over 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns as a Cajun.  But, like his last name, the audience was left with wanting more and the understudies have yet to claim the spotlight as their own. 
 
No team is perhaps happier to see Broadway gone than Texas State.  In two games vs the Bobcats, Broadway threw for 560 yards and five touchdowns with only one interception.  This Saturday, they'll (likely) see a combination of both Jalen Nixon and Brooks Haack.  Haack, a Texas native who played his HS football at state powerhouse Katy, started the first three games of the season for the Cajuns and has been underwhelming: 1-2 in those starts, losing both games against FBS competition (the win came over Northwestern State).  Against Kentucky and Akron, Haack completed 55% of his passes for just 271 yards, averaging a shade over five yards per attempt with no touchdowns and three interceptions.  In mop up duty at LA Tech last week, Haack threw four passes, one of which was intercepted.  The numbers against Northwestern State (7 of 8 for 187 yards, no TDs no INTs) were promising but not enough to solidify a grasp on the job.  As a runner, Haack has just been OK.  Sixteen rush attempts for 91 yards, the bulk (again) coming against Northwestern State (51 yards). 
 
Nixon, who's from Lafayette, relieved an ineffective Haack against Akron, but didn't fare much better against the Zips: 11 of 20 for 96 yards with one touchdown and one interception and he was sacked twice.  In his first start last week at LA Tech, Nixon was 17 of 33 for 161 yards (4.9 yards per attempt) with one touchdown and one interception, but had decent running numbers (9 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown). 
 
Cajuns Head Coach Mark Hudspeth has not announced a starter for Saturday's game and we probably won't know if it will be Haack or Nixon until the Cajuns' first series.  Nixon is the more versatile player of the two so I would guess he'll get the nod but the Bobcats are preparing for both.  Whoever it is, I'm assuming they'll be getting the ball to the player featured next.
 

3. Elijah McGuire is not to be trifled with

I wasn't really sure how to headline this bullet point, but how often do you get to say trifled?  Anyways, the Cajuns' star running back is the pre-season Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, was last year's Player and Offensive Player of the Year and is on the Doak Walker (nation's top running back), Maxwell (nation's best player) and Walter Camp (college player of the year) watch lists. 
 
He is a walking (running?) touchdown waiting to happen at any moment.  McGuire has touched the ball (rushes, catches and returns) 435 times in 2+ seasons and has scored 34 times.  That comes out to one TD every 13 times the ball is in his hands.  McGuire is averaging 8.6 yards per touch, and the Bobcats have felt his wrath.  In two games vs. Texas State, McGuire has 19 offensive touches for 207 yards and three touchdowns. 
 
Check out this play in the Cajuns' home opener against Northwestern State which results in McGuire's longest run of the season, an 88-yard touchdown vs the Demons. Here's a screen cap moments before the handoff:














McGuire takes the handoff from Haack around the six-yard line, and Northwestern State has two linebackers crash the line of scrimmage to stuff him for little to no gain and a safety playing 15 yards away, in position to help if needed.  McGuire blows by them all and scores easily.  While the Cajuns have had issues at quarterback, they still have this guy and that can be enough.  In summary, if you're even thinking of trifling with him, don't.
 

4. The Bobcats are still playing really fast on offense

Off the heels of a 14-point outing at Houston, a fan recently wondered on Twitter if the offense was going at a slower pace than last season's team.  After crunching the numbers the answer is: no.  In fact, the Bobcats are averaging MORE plays per game this season (78.0) than last year (76.7).  Through last week, the Bobcats ranked 17^th in the FBS in plays per game which is also tops in the Sun Belt. 
 
This next stat was passed along to me by Assistant Athletic Director (Major Gifts) Mark Nickell: 61% of Texas State's touchdown drives have been two minutes or less in length, only Baylor (67%) and TCU (63%) have a higher percentage.
 
Something else of note: the 1^st team offense has only played one full game this season (Southern Miss) and scored 50 points in that game.   However, until the defense proves it's capable of making stops, the margin for error for the offense, no matter how fast it operates, is small.  I don't know if Texas State beats Houston without the four turnovers but with them, obviously, they had no chance.  If the offense does a better job at protecting the football (only 12 turnovers all of last season) then they have a great opportunity at doing something special over the season's final eight games.
 

5. A strong start is paramount this Saturday

Both teams will be feeling some pressure this weekend even though each will have seven more conference games ahead of them.  Neither got out of non-conference play with a preferable record and a loss on Saturday would put the loser at 1-4 needing to win five of their last seven just to become bowl eligible.  The deeper into the game Saturday, the more the trailing team will be pressed into making something happen which doesn't always lead to the best results.  There's also the fear that since both the Bobcats and Cajuns are 1-3, the team that falls behind early may go through the feeling of "here we go again". 
 
For the Bobcats, they need to establish an early lead and give the offense some room to breathe.  The defense has surrendered a touchdown on the opponents' opening drive three times in four games this season, forcing the offense's hand to respond.   A lead would also give Texas State some flexibility on defense, a chance to be aggressive and perhaps bring some pressure to whoever is playing quarterback for the Cajuns on Saturday.  As has been outlined here, the strength of the Cajuns is their running game, they aren't built for big comebacks.  It would be difficult for a limited passing game to make up a 2-3 score deficit in the 2^nd half but that would mean a strong 1^st half from Texas State.  I'm sure the Cajuns feel the same way, although Tyler Jones and company are better equipped for the occasion should it arise.  
 
It's been two weeks since the Bobcats last played football, here's to hoping the bye week pays off.
 
Eat 'Em Up!
-Brant Freeman
 

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WEDNESDAY UPDATE - 3 DAYS AWAY

Getting Game Ready
Now that we are just three days away from game day, the Bobcats have to mentally themselves for a game setting. With the bye week last week, Texas State is very ready to step on the field against UL Lafayette. Now that the defense and team as a whole have been able to fine tune the details, they're looking forward to being under the lights Saturday.
 
"I think they are anxious to play again and I think the defensive guys are ready to play again," stated head coach Dennis Franchione. "I think from energy, little better execution, little more accountability, a little more discipline and a little better tackling, I think we have been better. Hopefully it will show on Saturday, but we still have things to do and need to be better and can be better. I think we'll play better on Saturday."
 

 

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TUESDAY UPDATE - 4 DAYS AWAY

Good Timing
With a bye week, a game, and a bye week to kick-off the month of October, the Texas State football team is gratefully taking these three weeks and using them to its advantage. As the conference season quickly approaches with UL Lafayette scheduled for Saturday, the Bobcats are taking this time to recover and work on a lot of different things to be at the best place they could possibly be.
 
"The open week was good. When we started the season and I looked at this open week, game, open week, really only playing once in three weeks I didn't know how I'd feel about it. I think it's going to work out for the better now. Giving us a chance to work on a lot of different things to get a little bit healthier, a little bit of rest physically, emotionally, and mentally, and to try and fix as many things as we could fix within the structure of things. I think it'll be good to have another open week to have a little more time to work on some things and get some more guys healthy. Conference play is always a little bit different, a little bit of a change, and a little more heightened intensity." – Head coach Dennis Franchione.
 

 
Big Shoes To Fill
When Lumi Kaba came to San Marcos, he had the shoes of former Bobcat and now NFL athlete Will Johnson to fill. As the season has progressed, Kaba, who has a big leg of his own, knows where he and the Bobcats need to improve upon in kick-offs, punts, and field goals. Along with priding himself for having a big leg, he wants to take pride in the consistency of the work he does on the field.
 
"Coming in here and replacing Will Johnson, who made it to the NFL, is kind of tough. I just want to come into the season and fit the team goals and what needs to be done. So far I am helping a lot on all three, kick-offs, field goals and punting. I think we can be a lot better on kick-offs and especially on punts. Will did great on both kick-offs and field goals, so to live up to his standards is kind of hard, but I'm trying to maintain and do the same." – Kicker Lumi Kaba
 

 

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TUESDAY MORNING UPDATE - 4 DAYS AWAY

 
 

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SUNDAY UPDATE - 6 DAYS AWAY

Great Practices, Great Motivation
With a week under the direction of interim defensive coordinator Brad Franchione, the Texas State defense and a team as a whole have adapted well to the adversity they have faced. With UL Lafayette on the horizon, the team now has to turn its focus from being about themselves, to planning this contest Saturday against the Ragin' Cajuns.
 
Head Coach Dennis Franchione's reaction to how his team/defense has responded this week.
"Couldn't have asked for any better of a response. The guys have bought in and worked hard. They want to do better and it's important to them. The changes we've made as far as schematically are subtle. The biggest changes are more intangible things that needed to change. Techniques and things like that. The accountability and discipline has been good. They guys have worked hard."
 

 
Reflection
Two years ago against UL Lafayette, Brandon Smith ran two kick-offs back for touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was returned the length of the field, marking the second-longest kickoff return in school history. Now that he gets to return to Lafayette, La., he reflects on the time there and how the team needs to improve every game moving forward now that conference play is upon us.
 
"It's always fun to go back to play UL Lafayette," stated Smith. "It's a nice college environment. Conference is a new season, new opportunities. Its teams that you have to beat to get to a bowl game. It's do or die right now. That's the way we have to take every game."